i have never cared much about home decor. we have always lived in a rental, and always felt my time and money was better spent on other things. but. now we own a house. we know that most social gatherings end up around the island in the kitchen. and we want one.
our kitchen is exactly the same as every kitchen in our subdivision. the contractor used identical cabinets and colours in every house. the first picture is our kitchen. yes, the walls are sorta lime green. we don't love a lot of overhead cabinets, so we want to remove the entire cabinet unit to the right of the sink. i am not in love with the cheap stock lighting, but i can live with it for a while.
(our kitchen- so needs an island)
(dark kitchen cabinets, light island cabinets)
(kitchen island from home depot-maybe add a granite countertop?)
(stainless steel prep table/island)
the company who supplied our kitchen cabinets can make us a custom matching island with the identical cabinet stain, hardware and countertop. or we can do the stock off-white island with granite countertop. or we can go with a stainless steel prep table, which has no storage, but looks cool. or we could go a different direction with a butcher block top.
i am thinking we will get all the appliances and our furniture in, then rethink. i feel like such an adult these days!
Hi J&J. I like the Home Depot island but facing the other way. A different surface like granite or a man made solid surface directly over the existing top would look awesome
ReplyDeleteThanks D. We are leaning toward the home depot choice. Can't wait for you to see our house!
DeletePlus you could wait for a few months before getting a new surface until you get a sense of what you like. But an island would be a superb gathering point, particularly in Newfoundland where kitchen parties are very popular.
ReplyDeleteThink the advice about living with it for a while is excellent. Given any thought to an L-shaped island? Also - don't think the stock lightening is too bad - might lend itself to doing something dramatic over the island without having to compete with the other lighting in the kitchen. One piece of advice - if you can - install outlets in island (on side - which can be covered with a "false" drawer front on a hinge, for example. Great for using the island as prep centre but also for buffets when there's a crowd. Congrats on the new home.
ReplyDeleteI think outlets on the island would be such a good idea. Awesome as a prep station
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ReplyDeleteHaving lived in a number of houses - my impression of your kitchen is that it lacks counter space that is really great for prep, and that if you install an island you will be using it a lot for that type of work. Just google outlet covers for kitchen islands and you will see some really neat - and some frugal ideas. For example, http://www.houzz.com/photos/1372760/classic-white-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-chicago Another idea I saw once was an island that had pull out shelves for appliances, e.g. a food processor, that pulled up and came up to counter level. This owner had outlets installed on the shelf (or beside it in the corner along the framing) so that the appliance was plugged in and ready to use when pulled out - don't know if that makes sense. Something like this: http://www.cookinglight.com/healthy-living/home/kitchen-classroom-redo-00412000076735/page3.html
ReplyDeleteI also think, especially as your family grows - you will want all the uppers.
Jessica - thought you might get use out of this website - I am enjoying it very much - http://whatshouldireadnext.com/index.php
Enjoy your new home and every blessing as you two get closer to meeting that beautiful child.